“Did you ever play mumbley-peg?”

My husband and I were sitting around a table enjoying after-dinner conversation with friends when the discussion turned to games we had played as children.

Mumbley-peg, my friend explained, was a game played with pocket knives. Each player would throw a knife into the ground, attempting to stick it as close to his own foot as possible. My friend’s wife and I just looked at each other and shook our heads.

The guys continued to compare notes about pastimes they’d enjoyed as children. They mentioned Buck Buck, a game made popular in one of Bill Cosby’s comedy routines. The goal of this game is for members of one team to climb onto the backs of the other until their collective weight causes the supporting team to collapse. In his routine, Cosby introduced Fat Albert as “the baddest Buck Buck breaker in the world.”

My husband told stories about his childhood buddies shooting BBs at one another from their bedroom windows. They had also invented a game involving tall weeds which they pulled from the ground to lob at one another. The trick, he said, was to yank out a weed with a substantial root ball covered in dirt. Those made the greatest impact when smacking an opponent, he said.

I continue to be astonished that any boys make it out of childhood alive.

Delighted to be continuing my story over at my friend Sheila’s place today. Won’t you click over and join me there?

Sharing these memories of play over at Laura’s place today @ The Wellspring: